tube amps - advice..

Rocky Racoon

Hey

Looking to buy a tube amp and it's a fairly hefty investment and not really sure where to start so some advice really appreciated...
I mostly play a Tokai ES 110 and mainly rythmn guitar...
I don't use many effects - I like a clean sound with some natural-sounding overdrive now and then. and maybe a little reverb and/or chorus.
So modelling / lots of messing to get a decent sound is NOT what i'm after. basically plug and play...
Soundwise - probably more american than british. that warm sound is really what i'm after. Stuff like arcade fire, flaming lips, broken social scene, tom petty, early rem, midlake. i haven't played many tube amps. one of them was a ephiphone blues custom which i liked but it didn't blow my mind. any thoughts on this one?
someone also mentioned sovtek amps? seem quite hard to get ? worth the hassle?? also better to get a new or vintage ??
budget - up to about 800, ideally less. are there any sites where you can actually hear what they sound like?? any particular amps to avoid??

Any thoughts appreciated...

Rocky

darrenw5094

For €800 would get you brand new ENGL from Thomann.
ENGL Thunder or maybe push the budget for the Screamer.

They are fricken expensive on the Uk sites.

Check out reviews for all types of amps on youtube.com

How long will it take for someone to disagree????;)

deaddonkey

Rocky Racoon wrote: »

Stuff like arcade fire, flaming lips, broken social scene, tom petty, early rem, midlake.

AC30

Patricide

roland jazz chorus??

Glassheart

Somebody said the AC30 which i would totally recomend but it's a bit of a stretch beyond your budget.

Maybe an AC15:
http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product.asp?name=Vox---AC15-CC1x&ID=4566

The only problem with an AC15 is there probably won't be a lot of clean headroom.It takes modulation based effects like chorus and vibrato really well IMO.Make sure you get one with an Alinoco Blue speaker.They make a big difference.

ball ox

€700-ish for an AC30 cc2 here. I bought it myself recently, quick delivery and the amp sounds beautiful. Heavy as hell though...

punchdrunk

Ac30...

Voodu Child

Cornford Roadhouse 30 combo!

Errr....actually, I can't really claim it'd suit what you're looking for...because they're only just starting to ship. :pac: But you should buy one and let us know what it's like

Don't forget the Peavey Classic 30. I wouldn't say it's 'American sounding', but it's a real simple valve amp that sounds good and should do the job for the sounds you're looking for. e600 on thomann.

raindog.promo

I have a Laney LCII, which I got in Dublin for about 700 so could be cheaper elsewhere. It's got a lovely warm sound and it's also a beast for distortion.

Eoin Madsen

American clean with natural distortion would suggest something vintage Fender.

red_ice

deaddonkey wrote: »

AC30

We just took one of those on in the band the (2x12 version).. im really finding it hard to like it for some reason... I dont know whats wrong, its just not doing it for me!

We have a Fender Twin Reverb Custom 15 and a Fender Hotrod Delux as our backup along side a marshall solid state..

The Fender Twin reverb is just spectacular. IMHO This is a bench mark amp. All future guitar amps we take onboard will be put up against this amp. The hotrod delux is alright too.. the marshall is... well... alright..

For some reason the AC30 just isnt sounding right for me

Patricide

Try the roland jazz chorus if you can find one in a music shop or if someone has one, from what you said your looking for it seems right up your alley.

Rocky Racoon

thanks all - appreciated

tried a vox ac30 cc - in a guitar shop. I liked it a lot but find it really hard to gauge in a guitar shop - can't turn it up which is kind of what tube amps need, innit??
also only 1 channel i think...
the ac30 cc didn't get great reviews in terms of sounds? thoughts?
is this just music snobs saying old is good, new is bad??

kinda strange that most new amps seem to try to replicate old amp sounds??
are there any new amps which are special??

will try to check out some Fenders and roland chorus.
most of the rehearsal studios where i've played seem to have old beat up marshalls / Line 6. not for me...

a lot of the amps seem to be about just getting the settings spot on some maybe that's where i'm going wrong...
Tried an ephiphone blues chorus in waltons - that seemed alright to me although again reviews not great. any thoughts??

Also Sovteks - anyone own one? they look cool - very important..

http://www.halkans.com/images/845sovtek.jpg

Cheers again - appreciate it's very subjective

Eoin Madsen

The user reviews for the AC30CC over on Plexipalace when it first came out were pretty favourable as compared to any other version since the original JMI. I'm sure there was some backlash later when everyone realised that it wasn't as controversial to like it as they expected. It has a PPI master volume which is pretty great. You should be able to get more or less the sound you want without cranking it all that much (if not then it might not be the amp for you). You might need to crank it if you're going for that heavier indie distortion. As with all valve amps, you're going to want to replace the stock valves after buying it anyway. The output stages in AC30 and most of the Fender circuits are cathode biased which simplifies the valve changing anyway. :pac:

I wouldn't spend too much time on the Fender Hotrod amps, but the more vintage Fenders would be particularly worth checking out. Twin etc. is a bit over budget, but try em anyway.

I don't know much about the Sovtek amps, I'm afraid.

To be honest, tweaking the "tone" controls is for relatively subtle alterations - no matter what the amp is or how many knobs they managed to get on it. I reckon most of the time you should know if it's the amp or not from practically the moment you plug in. It got the tone, or it don't got the tone.

Voodu Child

Rocky Racoon wrote: »

kinda strange that most new amps seem to try to replicate old amp sounds??
are there any new amps which are special??

Thats a whole thread in itself. One of the reasons old amps are popular is that people are trying to replicate the sounds of their heroes. Classic songs/albums become classic tones. The old 'how do I get the xxx tone' is one of the questions you'll see on gear forums time and time again.

That's why theres a big interest in classic amps, or re-issues of old amps, and the same with the Pod models. Its not about an old amp being 'better' than a new design, more about particular tones that people are after.

Of course there are new amps that are special also. You won't find a modeller that doesnt have a 'Recto' model, and Diezels etc are also starting to find their way into the modeller line-up. Same with Cornford, some of the Pods have Cornford models and thats a brand that's only been around for a few years.

Theres a lot of great old amps that have been used on some big name albums. But theres also tonnes of fantastic amps that are only starting to take off, or that have never been used by a big-name. I wouldn't limit yourself to the mentality that you should 'buy an AC30 because xxx played one', or any of that rubbish.